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It is essential to have an effective inbound marketing strategy. The main problem for many companies is that thye aren't sure what they should be focusing on. Although it may seem like a petty thing to do, it never hurts to create a handy "to-do" list. After all, if it is good enough for your groceries, it's good enough for your business! If these four things have not been added to your inbound marketing to-do list, you're missing out on some great opportunities.

Once you have traffic coming to your site, the next step is to convert them into leads and customers by gathering their contact information. Start by identifying how your business defines what a prospect, lead and customer is. Prospects and leads are looking for different types of information at each stage of the process. In the early stages, prospects and leads are more interested in how your product or service will help them. Then they're looking for information about your company, your credibility, expertise, proven results. Next, when they are ready to convert, they will want to know what the buy/purchase process is and what to do.

Marketing has evolved over the years, thanks to the internet. Now, people are turning to the web to find, research, and buy products, especially since it's all at their convenience. Even marketers are changing as they no longer have to rely solely on traditional advertising like billboards, commercials, direct mail or telemarketing to reach consumers about their products and services.

Here's something to think about: These days, A bad Website can be worse than no Website at all. Really! Think about that for just a moment. No Website at all means you might not believe in online marketing, and that's okay. Although many of my competitors (trust me, I've spoken to them...) would argue with me, even I am not convinced that every company needs a Website. However, a bad Website could mean so much more for your company.

It's no surprise that video marketing is gaining popularity ever since Youtube, Vine, Instagram, and other social media outlets made sharing and production so easy. Luckily for the marketing industry, video content can be a great way to capitalize on attracting new leads, connecting with your visitors, or engaging valued customers.

Last week Instagram and Facebook launched their new video service, Instagram video, in order to compete with Twitter’s Vine app. Instragram’s video offers the user 15 seconds to shoot a desired subject and is completely editable. So, while we’ve provided you with tips on how to use Instagram video for your marketing advantage, should you continue with Vine? Will users stay loyal to the infantile platform or switch over to Instagram, which was delivered to them in a simple app update?

This past week I was lucky enough to stumble across two real tickets to game 4 of the Stanley Cup between the Boston Ruins and the unstoppable Chicago Blackhawks. (Side note, this article might be slightly biased). Two hours and $400 later, I was sitting in the balcony watching the puck drop. While I expected the Hawks to win, I unexpectedly picked up on some parallels between the NHL’s sporting strategies and some always-important inbound marketing tactics.

Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has become one of the strongest and most powerful platforms that companies have at their disposal. As inbound marketers, you know how to use Twitter to push out content, drive traffic and create user engagement. And now Twitter is bringing out the big guns by making the site even more useful.